“At four o’clock, having had three or four hours’ rest, we are again on our way. The sun is hotter between three and four than at any other portion of the day. We are, of course, sufficiently delighted when, towards seven, we are in sight of our tents, probably on a bank near the river, with a beautiful prospect of blue rocks and luxuriant grass, which cannot fail of looking pleasant after the desert of all day. Possibly, however, the encampment may be in the midst of some arid plain, or under some sterile rocks; but wherever we may be, there is our home. The Bedouins are walking about, or are lying here and there quietly smoking. Our servants are cooking our desert dinner—everlasting Irish stews, and never-ending _soupe à la Julienne_. Appetite, however, seasons the humblest meal; and, therefore, it was seldom that either soup or stew was neglected. Indeed, to say nothing more than the truth, on many occasions the novelty of the scene, the sense of adventure, and the fatigue of the day’s journey, lent such a relish to our unpretending _cuisine_, that we enjoyed ourselves a great deal more than it is probable we should have done, had we dined at the best-arranged table in Belgravia.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
[Illustration: STRIPS OF VEGETABLE.] 131. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of carrots, 1/2 pint of turnips, 1/4 pint of onions, 2 or 3 leeks, 1/2 head of celery, 1 lettuce, a little sorrel and chervil, if liked, 2 oz. of butter, 2 quarts of stock No. 105. _Mode_.--Cut the vegetables into strips of about 1-1/4 inch long, and be particular they are all the same size, or some will be hard whilst the others will be done to a pulp. Cut the lettuce, sorrel, and chervil into larger pieces; fry the carrots in the butter, and pour the stock boiling to them. When this is done, add all the other vegetables, and herbs, and stew gently for at least an hour. Skim off all the fat, pour the soup over thin slices of bread, cut round about the size of a shilling, and serve. _Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 3d. per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons. _Note_.--In summer, green peas, asparagus-tops, French beans, &c. can be added.
Sources: The passage is from George Melly, Khartoum, and the Blue and White Niles, Vol. 2, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — ochre cloth, amphora stamp.